Political Interest
University of Georgia is a large school and ironically can sometimes be difficult to find people that have similar values. A student can get involve based on his/her political beliefs. The Republican and Democratic Parties have a club that meet weekly and are active on campus. One event is the debate between the two political organizations. Independent students that are discontent with the government system can participate in the non-political affiliated Occupy Athens movement. College Republicans College Republican National Committee (CRNC) is a nationally organized group on campuses that informs college Republicans and encourages recruiting students to the Republican Party ("College Republican National Committee"). Through their chapters, CRNC “engages college-age students in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. to win elections and advocate for conservative ideals…College Republicans from across America unite to help elect Republican candidates, support the Republican agenda, and the future leaders of the conservative movement” ("College Republican National Committee"). UGA College Republicans The University of Georgia College Republicans, UGACR, was founded on October 1st, 1948. “UGACR has been recognized for their excellence in campaign work, bringing in high level speakers, and training some of the brightest minds of the political and public policy world” ("University Of Georgia College Republicans"). Also, they host fun campus events. Campaign Work In "the 2010 elections, UGACR worked to elect Nathan Deal as Georgia's Governor, Austin Scott to Congress in the 8th District over Democratic incumbent Jim Marshall, and a total sweep of all constitutional offices for the first time in Georgia's history" ("University Of Georgia College Republicans"). For the 2010 campaign work, the UGACR volunteered almost 3,000 hours, making it the "#1 chapter in the nation for number of volunteer hours during the election season" ("University Of Georgia College Republicans"). The campaign work is not just locally. "They have traveled across the south-east for Presidential elections, organized rallies for gubernatorial candidates, and provided hundreds of volunteer hours to local campaigns"("University Of Georgia College Republicans"). Speakers The UGA College Republicans tries to have at least one guess speaker a month at their weekly meetings (Wednesday at 7pm in the Miller Learning Center room 214), such as UGA political science professors and local government officials of the Republican Party. In the 2011 fall semester, the guest speaker for the first meeting was Secretary of State Brian Kemp. In honor of 9/11's 10th anniversary, Dr. Morgan Marietta, a political science professor at UGA, spoke about the effects of 9/11 on U.S.A. today. In two September 2011 meetings, Congressman Rob Woodall, State Senator Bill Cowsert, State Representatives Doug McKellar and Chuck Williams came to speak. The speakers allow the members to gain knowledge on present-day issues. Fun Events On Campus The UGACR plan events on campus for their members to meet-up. For example, they hosted a tailgate for the UGA vs. South Carolina and the UGA vs. Mississippi State football game. They also host educational events such as "Cali N Tito's Trivia Night", "2nd Amendment Educational Meeting", and "GOP Presidential Debate Viewing Party." All their events can be found on their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/ugarepublicans. Accomplishments According to Jamie Jordan, Chairman, UGA College Republican, "their most prided accomplishment would be being the largest College Republican chapter in the nation, and even more impressive, is the fact that they had more campaign hours than any other chapter in the nation during the 2010 elections!" Mr. Jordan believes that the “most prided activity would probably be their involvement in philanthropies (such as Relay for Life and Shop With a Bulldawg) and also their voter registration drives. They hold nonpartisan voter registration drives in attempt to get more people involved in the political process, Democrat or Republican"(Jordan). Young Democrats Young Democrats of America became independent of the Democratic National Committee in 2002. They provide a way to connect with peers all over America who share the same political beliefs and to develop stronger understanding of the political policies. The "Democrats of America serves as a coordinating body, a training ground, and a valuable resource tool for their members The members get first-hand experiences in a wide variety of activities including campaigns and elections, grass roots organizing, fund-raising, conventions, and candidate endorsements". Through the activities the members influence the ideas of he candidate ("Young Democrats of America"). Young Democrats of University of Georgia and Athens- Clarke County (ACC) The UGA Young Democrats includes students who are involved politically, interested in governmental affairs, and identify with the Democratic Party. They produce knowledgeable voters by informing members of current events and political issues. They also recruit students to the Democratic Party ("UGA Young Democrats"). The Young Democrats inform their members through meetings as well as outside events. The Young Democrats of UGA meet every Thursday at 6:15pm in the Miller Learning Center room 267. "Weekly meetings include speakers, local and state politicians as well as professors and members of the community" ("UGA Young Democrats"). During the meetings they also "debate on current events and ideology give updates on events in the state of Georgia, the nation, and the world" ("UGA Young Democrats"). Speakers In the 2011 fall semester, the Young Democrats of UGA/ ACC have invited guest speakers ranging from people involved at UGA to Governmental Officials. Guest speakers have included, "Louis Elrod, President of the Young Democrats of Georgia and a former President of the Young Democrats of UGA" (“Young Democrats of UGA Meeting”) and former Athens Mayor Gwen O' Looney. Gwen O' Lonney was Mayor during the time the city and county consolidated and during the meeting answered questions the members had (“Former Athens Mayor Gwen O'Looney Addresses Young Dems!!”). Accomplishments In 2009, the Young Democrats of the Georgia State were named Chapter of the Year because the Young Democrats of UGA "helped register over 6,000 new voters in the Athens-Clarke County area and staffed and volunteered on campaigns at the local and state levels including Barack Obama's Campaign for President" (“UGA Young Democrats”). In 2010," members interned with several local and state campaigns including Roy Barnes Gubernatorial Campaign and Russell Edwards for Congress as well as coordinated several voter registration drives and political forums on the UGA Campus" ("UGA Young Democrats"). Occupy Athens People occupy the sidewalk next to the UGA Arch 24/7 and are promoting the Occupy Wall Street movement. The Occupy Athens began on October 6, 2011. They are not based on any specific Party; instead the movement is about the people "voictheir discontent" (“You are the 99% Occupy Wall St: Athens, GA”). The negative feelings the people have are towards the government and only "a few extraordinarily powerful corporations and astronomically wealthy individuals have co-opted our political and economic systems, and the remaining 99% of society has suffered as a result" (“You are the 99% Occupy Wall St: Athens, GA”). Explaining the Movement This movement is extremely complex. When Austin Gandy was asked to explain the movement simply he was taken aback because simplifying this movement is difficult. "The reason why it is difficult to make it simple is because the problem is gigantic and involves many different facets and influences that are creating a systematic problem. That is why we call the government system broken right now. But the basic point is that we have is that corporate influence over our politics is undermining the democratic process and it is creating a false narrative, where the people have a voice and have influence over policies but in fact corporations are calling the shots” (Grandy). Corporations Influence on Politics "Last year there was a Supreme Court decision, Citizens United. And what it established was based on former Supreme Court decisions in 1826, Austin thinks. It established that corporations have 14 amendment rights, like you and I. Further legislation indicated that corporations have the right to free speech and that contributions to political campaigns are free speech. Citizens United established that unlimited amounts of political contributions done in secrecy are a form of free speech and the corporations can just fun political campaigns without ever disclosing that they have done something, which means that they don't have a vote but they dictate who the candidates are"(Grandy). Other Focuses People are different therefore "different people have different focuses participating in the Occupy Athens Movement. Some people have a problem that corporations have personhood at all; that they have any rights. Some people are more upset about stuff like the Glass-Steagall Act" (Grandy). Glass-Stegall Act The Glass-Steagall Act “once upon a time made it illegal for banks to gamble with consumer bank funds. Like if you put $5,000 in the bank then basically J.P. Morgan could go to the craps table and basically gamble with your money. There is no other First World, industrialized nation that allows that because it's dangerous. That's what happened to the banks with their bail out; they had gambled to big and all of a sudden they had all of these assets that were worth nothing” (Grandy). Party Affiliation When asked if the Occupy Athens Movement affiliates themselves with a certain political party, Mr. Gandy replied, "I would say that we are almost anti- affiliating ourselves." Then he was asked, "so, would you say your independent?", Mr. Grandy said a little hesitantly, "Yes, I would say that we are independent" and then he quickly re-answered with"we are critical. Critical of the left and right because 50% of the Senate seats are held by millionaires, that's left and right. Millionaires tend to pass the legislation that benefits the rich. For example, all the candidates that voted against the removal of the Bush-Era tax-cuts were all millionaires." BIBLIOGRAPHY "About." University Of Georgia College Republicans. University of Georgia College Republicans, 2011. Web. 8 Nov 2011. "About Us!." UGA Young Democrats. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Nov 2011. . Gandy, Austin. Personal interview. 05 Nov. 2011. "History." College Republican National Committee. The College Republican National Committee, 12 Apr 2010. Web. 8 Nov 2011. "History." Young Democrats of America. YDA.org, 2011. Web. 8 Nov 2011. . Jordan, Jamie. "Information." Message to Jenna. 07 Nov 2011. E-mail. You' are the 99% Occupy Wall St: Athens, GA. Athens, GA: Occupy Athens Movement, 2011. Print. Young Democrats of UGA/ACC. “Young Democrats of UGA Meeting.” ''Facebook. ''Facebook, 2011. Web. 07 Nov 2011. Young Democrats of UGA/ACC. “Former Athens Mayor Gwen O'Looney Addresses Young Dems!!.” ''Facebook. ''Facebook, 2011. Web. 07 Nov 2011. By: Jenna Pagano Category:Athens Community